Quarry
by icestar14
Summary: A modern day predator hunt has the CSI of Chicago stumped, and Kai won't rest until she finds the culprit, not even when the govt. steps in. But what then? rated T for language, description of crime scenes, and real life.
1. Who are you

**oops. forgot to fix the chapter name. my bad.**

**hey people. yes, its been awhile. anyways, I've been watching the predator movies recently, so I was inspired to write a fanfic for them. its kinda more based on predator 2, but in modern day with CSI people and such. so read, enjoy, and review!**

Chapter 1

_Brring._

My hand reflexively hit the snooze button, hoping for a few more minutes of sleep.

_Brring._

Wait, that's not my alarm clock.

_Brring._

I rolled over and checked the time. 2:14 AM. Only work would dare to call me this early.

_Brring._

I groaned as I reached over and picked up my cordless phone. "You've reached the morgue. The coroner isn't in right now, so please leave a message," I answered in a dead monotone.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine," Katie replied brightly.

"Who's on call?" I asked.

"Tyler and Evan are already there, and Jen's on the way."

"That bad, huh?"

"You bet."

I sighed wearily. "Where at?"

"The address is 1400 Lincoln. Its about 3 blocks from where Wolf Road crosses it."

"Fine. Give me…" I glanced at my digital clock. "20 to 25 minutes."

"Sounds great. Have a nice day," Katie replied in a sing-song manner. I growled and hung up.

I hauled myself out of bed and threw on whatever clean clothes that happened to be around, then staggered to the bathroom. After running a brush through my auburn hair, I put it up into a passable ponytail and splashed cold water on my face. Staring at the blue eyes and pale, freckled face in the mirror, I decided to forgo the make-up out of laziness-as usual. I made my way to the tiny kitchen, where I snapped on my police belt and grabbed a protein bar off the counter. Before leaving my apartment, I slid my standard .42 into its holster. I locked the door and navigated down the stairs to the parking lot. Checking to make sure my kit was in back, I then got into my blue SUV and drove out into the night. I munched on my morning snack as I headed to another day in the life of a crime scene investigator.


	2. Bodies

**so, a bit of a longer chapter, but I've worked hard on it. by the way, the main character's name is Kaitlyn and goes by Kai. you'll learn why in chapter 3. just a warning though, the reason this is rated T is because I describe the crime scenes in detail, and mention drugs. so if you happen to be under 13, go read some fanfic with happy cartoon characters that don't die in a horrible, bloody manner.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the predator franchise, just my fictional characters.**

Chapter 2

The crime scene turned out to be an abandoned warehouse- rusted chain link fence, graffitied brick walls, bashed-in doors, boarded windows- perfect for any number of illegal activities. I parked my car on the street near Jen's black Suburban, grabbed my forensic kit, and made my way to the yellow-taped entrance. After flashing my badge at the cop standing guard, I met Evan and he briefed me as we entered the derelict building.

"We've got 3 bodies hanging from the rafters, stripped and skinned. As far as we can tell, they're all male, but we're gonna need to ID them before we start looking for suspects," the short, mousy-haired man explained.

"Katie said it was bad, but she didn't elaborate. Just how terrible is it?" I asked.

Evan grinned. "Kai, you have never seen gory until you've seen…" he opened the door flamboyantly, "this."

Inside, there was a large, dimly lit storage space, nearly empty save for the team and the coroner directing another cop on a ladder. Oh, and the 3 skinless bodies dangling from the ceiling. The policeman was attempting to cut them down, but that wasn't really working. He definitely did not look like he wanted to be up there.

"What do you mean, the rope won't cut?" James bellowed at the officer.

_Poor guy_, I sympathized. Our resident coroner was terrifying even without yelling. He was 6'2", gray haired, and could easily be mistaken for an escaped asylum patient. But he could dissect corpses with the best of them, and discover the most insignificant anomaly in any victim. James had closed so many cases with his precision and attention to detail in the 37 years he's worked for the Chicago CSI, it'll be a shame when he finally retires. His sense of humor wasn't too bad either, if you like morbid jokes. But I digress.

"The knife isn't working. I think the rope might be, like, part wire or something," the blonde cop called down.

"That knife is high-quality stainless steel. If it can slice cleanly through cartilage, it should be able to cut some twisted fiber," James roared back.

"Why don't you just untie it? That way, testing will be more accurate," I loudly interrupted.

The 2 men glared at me for inserting some common sense into a manly discussion, then James sighed.

"Do as Miss O'Shaunessy says, but _don't damage the bodies!_" the elderly coroner ordered. As I went past him to join the rest of my team, I heard him mutter, "I must be going senile in my old age." I patted him on the shoulder and said reassuringly, "Aw, but that's why we love you." He gave me one of his famous death glares, and I chuckled as I passed him.

I could tell from the dull lights overhead that the blood-splatter analysis specialist, Rex, would have a blast recreating the scene. Minus the smell and the bodies, it could almost be a painter's workspace, albeit an enthusiastic one with an affinity for red paint. Evan and I had to carefully maneuver around pools and large smears to reach Jen and Tyler.

"Jeez, somebody had a little too much fun in here," I noted.

Tyler heartily agreed. "If a chipmunk drank 10 Red Bulls and had an AK-47, you still couldn't get this much damage," the gangly, dark-haired crime scene investigator noted.

I shook my head in disbelief, then inquired, "What do we have in the way of evidence?"

"Well, we found 2 black duffel bags off to the side; one has $450 in cash, and the other has about a pound and a half of crack," Jen announced.

"A drug deal?" I wondered aloud.

"Possibly. We also discovered a bunch of casings and bullets, and 2 handguns. One of them could be the murder weapon, but we'll have to wait for James to verify their CODs." The tall, African-American woman paused, then added, "I think that a rival gang found out about the deal and 'whacked' them, then split when they heard the sirens."

Evan shook his head. "If they had time to skin and display them, why not take the money and cocaine as a bonus?" he questioned her logic.

"Maybe it's some sort of Satanic ritual," Tyler theorized, "and the dealers accidentally interrupted them and-"

"We won't know for sure unless we find more evidence," I cut off Tyler before he could continue his wild speculations. The others agreed with me, and we split up, each investigating a different corner of the storeroom.

My UV light easily discovered more blood drops, leading to a wall. I ran the beam over it and found 2 parallel gouges at my eye level in the plaster, surrounded by dripping, dark liquid. I snapped a picture, then pulled on sterile gloves to examine them. The deep indentations were about a half-inch wide, an inch long, and went 7 inches into the wall. As I prepared a mold, I called my teammates over.

"Whaddaya got?" Evan asked as I poured the mix into the gouges.

"There are 2 holes in this wall. I'm thinking that there was a knife involved along with the guns."

"That might also account for the skinning, " Jen noted thoughtfully. We watched James examine the grounded bodies as we waited for the mold to dry.

"Liver temperature hasn't dropped below eighty degrees Fahrenheit in any of the vics. My guess is that they haven't been dead much longer than an hour," he relayed back to us. "Whoever hided them must have been an expert."

Tyler punched Evan in the arm. "See? Satan worshippers flay their sacrifices, and use the skin for other ceremonies."

I shook my head as I gently pried the dried elasticine from the wall. "You watch too many horror movies," I chided the youngest member of our team. The mold came free, and my fellow investigators gathered around as I displayed it. The rubbery copies had wicked-looking barbs where the edge of the blade would be, and the entire thing seemed to be retractable.

Evan let out a low whistle. "That looks nasty. I definitely don't want one of those gong through me."

"Unfortunately, that was probably one of our skinless friends' COD," James announced as he approached our group. "It appears that these blades were forcefully shoved through his torso, possibly puncturing his heart and a lung. Of course, I'll need to get him and his buddies back to the lab to verify anything," he concluded.

Confused about his word choice, I questioned him. "Wait. You said 'blades.' How do you know that these 2 scratches were made by 2 different knives?"

"The distance between the puncture wounds on the body and the holes in the wall seem to be the same- 4 finger-widths apart." He demonstrated this theory in the space between the 2 cuts. "Because the odds of this occurrence are a bit too high for a coincidence, I assumed that there were 2 blades used in unison." Our attention turned back to the elasticine mold as this information was absorbed.

"What you're saying then," Evan slowly confirmed,"is that someone is running around out there, with a pair of retractable knives, able to kill someone and easily hide the weapons, _without restraint_?" James only thought for a second or two before affirming this.

Tyler was ecstatic. "Dude, this sounds exactly like Wolverine from X-Men."

Jen looked skeptical, but I added, "Well, if that's what the evidence points to, then I don't see why not. But the only way to know for sure is to test everything."

With that, we finished collecting samples and evidence, and prepared to transport our findings back to the lab. However, as we left the building, I felt eyes burning into my back, so I spun around. I scanned all of the nearby buildings from top to bottom to find the stalker, but they were completely deserted.

"What is it?" Evan asked me when he realized I had stopped walking with him.

I took one last look at the warehouse before replying, "Nothing, I just thought I forgot something." We continued to our respective cars and loaded them up.

_I must be tired or something,_ I dismissed the sensation. But even as I pulled away from the curb in my SUV, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched.

**read and review people, it'll get you faster updates if I feel loved! :)  
**


	3. Summer Breeze

**chapter 3! Major thank-yous to my reviewers (BigDaddyBall, UltimateEvilLord1, Syver'ti, and GrimlockX4) who willingly spend their time to critique my work. Free hugs for all! And to those of you who don't review, I may take longer to put up chapter 4 just to annoy you :P just kidding. But seriously, review and I will respond back to you**

**disclaimer: I don't own Predator, Alien, AVP, or Chicago. I just own my original characters and this story (though sometimes it seems my characters have minds of their own!)**

Well, we ran the usual tests on the guns - nothing really interesting there, except all of the bullets were accounted for. That was rather odd, considering both had gone through all of their ammo. Either the perp was bulletproof, or the gunners were terrible shots. The cocaine was definitely cocaine, and the money had traces of at least 2 illegal substances, most likely used to get high. This just stank of "drug deal," with more than a hint of "gang." However, James' report didn't exactly fit with our theories.

"What do you mean, none of them were shot?" Evan repeated, incredulous.

"All three victims died from being stabbed or beaten in some way. Tests have concluded that our shortest John Doe had been impaled with some long, retractable instrument through his intestinal tract; the one with a crooked nose took your double blades to the heart and left lung; and the vic with the alcohol and potato chips in his system was shredded by the blades across his chest, along with some broken ribs and a serious concussion," the coroner announced to our group.

Jen was dumbfounded. "Well, there goes our only logical theory," she said dejectedly.

"Not quite," James contradicted. "'Shorty' was addicted to cocaine, and there is substantial evidence that he abused other drugs as well. I also found traces of tattoos on the other 2 bodies, including matching cobras."

"That still doesn't explain the skinning," I reminded the group. Evan, Tyler, and Jen murmured in assent. The aging coroner still had some crucial evidence for us, though.

"There is one more thing," he added before we left, "Whoever did this either had a great talent for skinning-or was well-practiced. My guess is that the perp has a hunting background."

"Thanks, James; we'll look into that," I promised as the team and I headed back up to the lab.

Since the bodies were missing their skin, we couldn't run their fingerprints through the database. However, the cobra tattoos turned out to be connected to the South Side Cobra gang, so the gang theory wasn't completely out yet. The third body's DNA matched a guy that had been missing for about a week. The story was that his wife caught him with crack, and he ran off with her last paycheck. Apparently he cashed it so he could get his next fix. No new evidence emerged from the skinning case after that, so we continued testing samples from 2 other murders from the West Side, along with a good number of rape kits. By the time we finished up, it was about 4:50 pm.

"Dinner time!" Evan announced as we signed out and headed to the garage. "Where shall we eat today?"

"How about that old Chinese place on the corner of 20th and Warner?" Jen suggested.

Tyler agreed. "Yeah, we haven't been there in ages."

Evan turned to me. "What about you, Kai?"

I grinned. "Sure; why not?"

"Alright. Meet you guys there," Jen promised as she unlocked her Suburban and climbed in.

As I fiddled with my keys, Tyler came up to me.

"Hey, would you mind if I hitched I ride with you? My car's still in the shop," he sheepishly requested.

I raised an eyebrow. "They haven't fixed the hood yet?" He shook his head. "Did Zach tell you when it would be done?"

"He said by Friday, and I have that court appearance tomorrow for the Dickson case…" the dark-haired forensic scientist trailed off, and looked at me hopefully.

Sighing, I relented. "All right, you can borrow my car tomorrow; just don't get me any parking tickets," I warned. "Get in."

He beamed. "Thanks!" Tyler hopped into the backseat as I started my dark blue Honda CR-V. After pulling out of the garage, the young CSI attempted to start a conversation.

"Sooo… why do you go by 'Kai' instead of 'Kate' or 'Katie,' like our cheerful desk clerk?"

As I turned a corner, I took a quick glance at the eager face in my mirror. "I take it you've found out that my real name is Kaitlyn, then?" He nodded. "Well, to be honest, I absolutely hated my name all through elementary school because it was so common. There was at least one other Kaitlyn in all of my classes; in 4th grade, there were 3 besides me, and they all spelled it differently. I didn't want to be known as 'Katie O.' any more, so in junior high I created a new nickname for myself, and it stuck."

My passenger digested this information, then slyly questioned, "Any particular reason it sounds Japanese?"

Stopping for a red light, I replied, "Nah, its just the first 3 letters of my name. Although," I added, "in freshman year in high school, I did get into the Japanese culture when my friends introduced me to manga." The light turned green, and we continued on, pulling into the small parking lot less than a minute later. "Chinese Wok" blinked in argon-red letters above the door to the restaurant.

After showing Tyler where the insurance papers and the car registration were, I handed him my keys and we left my blue Honda CR-V. The gangly crime scene investigator locked it, and the 2 of us headed towards the rundown building. Suddenly, that sensation of an unfriendly gaze on my back returned, so I whipped around to spot my stalker. Aside from a dark green Impala entering the parking lot, there was no one there; at least, nobody paying attention to me. The anorexic blonde leaning against a bench smoking a cigarette didn't seem to be interested in anything except the text messages on her hot pink cell phone.

"Earth to Kai-you coming or what?" the dark haired forensic scientist called. He was holding the door open for me. How sweet.

"Yeah, I just thought I... heard something," I fibbed as I entered, shrugging it off as hyperactive nerves.

After a pleasant dinner with my colleagues (during which we discussed the skinning case and didn't make any breakthroughs), I paid for my sweet-and-sour chicken and rice, picking up a complementary fortune cookie on the way out. Since my apartment is only a few blocks away, I decided to walk home.

The final rays of the setting sun were reflecting red and gold off of the many skyscrapers as day slowly transitioned to night. The unbearably hot, humid air was tempered by the cool breeze from Lake Michigan. Strangely, there weren't many people in this part of town even though it was finally beginning to cool off. During the day, most were kept indoors by the oppressive heat wave that had rolled in over the weekend, but the nearby lake made nights somewhat bearable. This particular evening wasn't actually that bad; it was pleasant to stroll in, although my heat tolerance is a bit higher than most people. Twilight had become dusk by the time I was about three quarters of the way home, and the streetlights were just beginning to flicker on.

As I was passing a darkened alley, I heard a faint slicing sound. The night breeze carried the tang of wet iron to my nostrils-blood, I recognized-so I cautiously entered the shadowy realm between an office building and a derelict Goodwill store. The sudden clash of metal rang against my eardrums as something at the far end knocked a trashcan over, and my hand went to my .42 in its holster. Skittering feet rushed towards me, and I braced myself for whatever came out. In the dim light from the streetlamps, I found the source was a battered orange tomcat that hissed at me as it raced by, heading for a quieter alley to sulk around. There was an ear-piercing shriek of metal on brick, and I drew my handgun, slowly advancing while the sound continued on and off. It seemed to be heading upwards, so I craned my neck to look above me. The air seemed to shimmered for a second at the top of the Goodwill, and I heard heavy footsteps running over the roof of the store.

As I turned back to the mouth of the alley, something wet and sticky hit the tip of my nose. It had become too dark to make anything out overhead, so I dug my cell out of my jeans and flipped it open, hoping the screen would shed some light on the subject. Another drop hit it, and the backlight glowed red through the splatter. I slowly looked up, and although the light from my phone was faint, I could just make out the skinless features of an inverted human head. Yet another drop of blood landed on my forehead as I wiped off the screen and dialed a number, backing out from under the fresh body. After a few rings, it picked up.

"Uh, Katie? Forget about your date tomorrow. We're gonna be working overtime."

**like I said before: read and review, and I will respond back. more reviews = faster updates :)**


	4. In Dreams

**yes, I know I'm long overdue for an update. the explanation is at the bottom, so you'll have to read this chapter before you judge my nonexistent deadline skills. enjoy!**

I really do hate discovering crime scenes- it involves a ton of paperwork (which I strongly despise) just to ensure that I was not connected to it and I didn't mess with the evidence. But enough of my ranting- we actually got a positive ID for our latest victim: Jimmy Navarro, the Cobra gang's official pimp. His wallet was found behind one of the trashcans, along with his signature gold-handled cane. There were so many crimes connected to it, our team had officially dubbed it "Jimmy's Partner-in-Crime." Of course, we were never able to get a warrant for it, so Jimmy has always walked free.

However, it didn't look like he would be walking any time soon. Both of his legs had been shattered, and his intestines ripped out, courtesy of the double blades. Skinned too, just like the others. According to James, Jimmy was most likely murdered and flayed just before I found his body. The only part that didn't fit was how the perp escaped, because the alley dead-ended at a brick wall.

"You're absolutely sure that you saw no one leave?" Evan interrogated me for the fifth time.

"Yes," I emphasized, "unless you think he turned into a cat."

The mousy haired CSI shook his head. "Sorry. It's just that there's no way for him to have gotten away."

I replayed the scene again in my head-the banging trashcans, the cat, the screeching sound, the shimmering on the roof of the Goodwill…

"Wait. Is it possible the killer climbed out? I thought I heard heavy footsteps over the Goodwill store."

He shrugged and slowly replied," I suppose. We'll check it out on our second sweep, but unless he had climbing equipment with him, I doubt it." He glanced at me, apparently noticing the dark circles under my eyes. "In the meantime, I need you to go home and rest."

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. "Why? I want to catch this guy just as bad as you," I asked. Evan sighed.

"Yeah, but I know how you get when you haven't slept for-" he looked at his watch, "nearly 20 hours."

"I can work for another 5 or 6-"

"Go," he cut me off, "I need my team to be alert and focused."

Eventually I conceded. "Alright. Just let me finish this last test on Jimmy's 'P.I.C.'"

Tyler slipped in after Evan had left.

"Did he give you the 'I need my team aler-'"

"Yeah," I interrupted, "I hate it when he does that."

The young forensic scientist hovered as I sent the last wood shaving through the machine, pulling on some gloves to handle the evidence.

"You know," he said conspiratorially as he examined the cane, "there were some rumors going around that Jimmy's 'PIC' is hollow, and that's where he kept his personal stash of weed."

I shook my head. "That's just a myth. You really shouldn't believe everything you hea-" There was a 'click,' and the gold cobra handle popped free of the wood. Giving Tyler a suspicious look, I commented, "It didn't do that when I checked it."

He merely grinned as he took a pair of tweezers and fished out a folded piece of paper. I came around to his side of the table to get a closer look. Drawn on it was some sort of map, but of where I had no clue. It was mostly a bunch of intersecting double lines connecting different symbols, including a snake, a circle within a square, a couple of shaded and unshaded rectangles, a boat, and a red 'V'.

"Treasure map?" Tyler wondered.

I snorted as I snapped a few pictures. "Yeah, right. Probably leads to a hidden warehouse full of cocaine, money, and prostitutes." I carefully slid the confusing map into an evidence bag and handed it to the dark haired investigator. "All yours. I'm going home," I announced.

Tyler waved as he began studying the enigmatic piece of paper. I signed out, then took the L-train to the residential district. After a leisurely stroll to my apartment, I let myself in and fixed a late snack. I had a quick shower, and before going to bed I went out on my tiny porch in my pjs. It was going to be another humid night, with no chance of a breeze. I sighed, settling into one of the cheap plastic chairs to gaze at the night sky. It was usually difficult to see any stars, thanks to the light pollution, but I was able to pick out Venus and Polaris. The points of light made me nostalgic for my childhood home out in the suburbs, where there wasn't so much reflected light. When I was younger, I usually looked out my window to find Orion and the Big Dipper before I went to sleep.

Reminiscing eventually caused me to doze off, imagining the comforting constellations watching over me like they used to. Suddenly I saw trees flashing by, like I was running through a forest. There was a strong urge to follow something ahead of me, but I didn't know what it was.

I'm not sure what woke me up, the weird dream or the phone ringing, but I swore I saw a tall, dark figure crouched on the roof of the building across from mine. I froze, unable to think or move. It was only there for a few seconds or so before it vanished, like a ghost. Staring intently at the spot, I could almost make out a faint distortion in the air where it had been, but eventually I couldn't tell where it was anymore, or if it was ever there at all. For all I knew, it could have been a remnant from the dream I just had. Still spooked from the encounter, I finally noticed my phone was insistently ringing, so I staggered back inside and picked it up.

"Now wha-" I started, but Evan cut me off.

"Kai, you've got to get over here, pronto. There's been a massacre at 'Cisco's place, and none of our contacts are talking."

"Whoa, slow down a little. You mean Francisco Tavianni, Gerry Tavianni's little brother?" I struggled to comprehend. What did he mean, 'massacre'?

"Yeah, his house is completely trashed. I'm sending Tyler to pick you up. Be ready in five."

"Wait, I-" He hung up. That man can be so...abrupt. I sighed and got dressed, pulling my hair up into a ponytail again. I pushed the figure to the back of my mind and settled back into my usual routine, grumbling the perfect cliche for my job.

"Work just never ends."

**AN: you know, I was hoping to update a lot over the summer, but "shit happens" as Danny Glover so neatly put it. I had college visits, Blue Lake fine arts camp, college applications, a flood of plot bunnies for the Transformers universe that my friend introduced to me (so far, I've tamed some of the more interesting ones to use in possible Transfics in the future), AP biology and literature projects, and of course marching band. I have a huge case of senioritis, so most of my study hall time is being used as the "quick, rush through the homework to make it look done" time. but hey, at least I managed to update. I can't thank you guys enough for your patience.**

**I have the chapter after the next one already written (*SPOILER! look away if you like to be suprised!* Kai finally meets her stalker face-to...uh, mask), so now I just have to make a transition between these 2. review please, it makes me feel loved! and forces me to write faster! :)**


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